Discovering the depths of Mildura's historic buildings for art

When you first walk down the stairs to the cellar at the Mildura Rio Vista House, the temperature drops by about 10 degrees and things start to feel creepy.

That is just one of the feelings that the artist in a new exhibition in the basement of this 125 year old building wants you to feel.

This space and some of Mildura's oldest and more mysterious buildings are featuring in a state-wide project on old cinemas and cinema type spaces.

Bridget Crone is the curator of 'The Cinemas Project: Exploring the Spectral Spaces of Cinema in Regional Victoria' and came up with the idea after travelling around and trying to document old cinema spaces a few years ago for research.

But she thought it would be great to go back and bring some of them back to life and she chose Mildura because of its past.

"Mildura has a fantastic cinema history."

With some of them still standing, like the Astor is now the Mildura Brewery, but also spaces like the 'Cross Roads Drive In' that has been repurposed for housing.

"I was really kind of attracted to that mix of still here and still here but in another form, but still remembered," Ms Crone said.

"How can these spaces be thought of and reactivated today."

The Bolte Gallery of Rio Vista, built for irrigation pioneer William Chaffey, was used as a cinema during the 1950s so curator Bridget Crone says it was a perfect place to exhibit.

So she commissioned a project where five separate artists, would make five installations in five separate towns, bring spaces back to life.

Mikala Dwyer is the artist with her installation 'Underfall' just one of the five projects, commissioned specifically for Mildura.

Ms Dwyer has had a fascination with filming staircases all over the world and with this old cinema space down a staircase, she wanted to play on that feeling and see if she could get people to relax in a space that for some reason they always feel uneasy in.

"It's kind of a creepy space that people don't like to venture to," she said.

"In all horror stories and super natural ghost stories the cellar is always the place to stay out of."

"But in this instance I'm asking you come down and physically experience that, and try to relax into it a bit."

As part of the project Ms Dwyer filmed in some of Mildura's most historic buildings, but found the landscape of the region a bit of a challenge.

"It's ironic I did come looking for staircases and didn't realise Mildura was so flat," said said jokingly.

"Which has made it all the more interesting, because I think I'm bringing staircases, at least it's something you don't have."

She said she went into some of the most interesting buildings and managed to find a few staircases amongst them.

"People opened their doors to us and we were able to see another side of Mildura that I think not many people could experience in such a short time."

Filming at Mildura's historic buildings like the T and G building, the Mildura Club and the Carnegie Centre feature in her works.

The Cinemas Project and 'Underfall' are at the Mildura Arts Centre until 23 August 2014.